Olympia Snowe: “I rise today to draw your attention to a critical amendment that I am offering to the Omnibus appropriation bill. As…”

“I rise today to draw your attention to a critical amendment that I am offering to the Omnibus appropriation bill. As ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and the Coast Guard, I am working with my colleagues in the New England delegation to seek support for this amendment. Our amendment would allow fisheries disaster relief funds to be made available to hard-hit fishermen in all New England States, not just Massachusetts as is currently stipulated. From the time the first Europeans arrived in the region that would become New England, fish--particularly groundfish such as cod and haddock--were the fundamental natural resource. It was said that fish were once so bountiful that one could walk across the Gulf of Maine on the backs of codfish. But today, our centuries-old tradition of groundfishing is at a critical juncture, and many of our fishermen are increasingly finding that they can no longer find enough fish to make a living in an industry that has sustained their families for generations.”